I hated it. I hated the fact that mother and father would be visiting, completely unannounced, and I was expected to introduce them to Rimi. Mother I wasn't worried about. She was a sweet woman, and always cared for me and Itachi. She was the one who kept in contact with us. Father on the other hand…

I sighed, shaking my head at the thought of him. It wasn't that he was a horrible father. I guess he just really sucked at showing emotion, which is why he and mother aren't together anymore. I'm sure he really does love her, but he has such a cold exterior that it's hard to tolerate him sometimes.

"You know Sasuke, you shouldn't worry about whether our parents will approve of her or not," Itachi said as he set the table.

"I'm not worried. Why did you even tell them about her?"

"Because dear brother, this is a special person in your life and they'd find out eventually."

I glanced at the raven haired girl who sat on the couch waiting patiently for my parents to arrive. She didn't seem like she was bothered by the situation, but I think on the inside she was panicking because of her difference. "Why did you say it doesn't matter of mother and father approve?"

Itachi paused, then went to grab glasses. "Because I'm in charge of you, and I personally approve."

I couldn't help but let a small smile appear when he said that. It doesn't seem like Itachi and I get along, but he's my big brother and the only one who's shown how much he cares about me, especially since he didn't really HAVE to take care of me after our parents' divorce. His approval actually meant more to me than I expected, and I'm glad he likes how happy I've been lately because of her. I think he's the only one besides her friends that doesn't judge Rimi because she's deaf. They'd definitely get along if he talked to her.

The doorbell rang, signaling the start of what I thought would be an irritating night. Itachi gave me a look before going to answering the door. I walked over to Rimi to let her know my parents were here and patted her shoulder.

"This should go smoothly. As long as Itachi's here we should be fine," I said to her. She smiled sweetly and nodded, facing my now approaching mother.

"Sasuke! It's so wonderful to see you. You should call more often you know," mother said hugging me.

I hugged back lightly. "Sorry mom, I'll try to more often."

"You should. We need to be informed of how you're doing in school and with your future career," father said coming up to me. He didn't hug me or try to initiate any physical contact. He just stared at me, business like.

"My studies are up to par as usual and my future is fine father," I responded. He nodded, before briefly glancing at Rimi.

"And who is this girl?"

"Rimi, nice to meet you Mr. Uchiha and Ms. Uchiha," she said smiling. I was taken aback by the fact that she actually spoke, but I attempted to not make it obvious. I guess she was more nervous than I thought since she's acting like she's not deaf now by speaking.

"It's nice to meet you too Rimi. Sasuke hasn't spoken about you but Itachi has gladly informed me," mother said smiling back. I raised an eyebrow. What has Itachi been saying this whole time?

"At least you've been informed Mikoto. I've never heard of this girl."

"Fugaku no need to be rude!"

I could sense Rimi becoming uncomfortable beside me, especially since I knew she was attempting to read their lips the whole time and probably caught what my father had said, so I quickly changed the subject. "Why don't we stop standing around and start dinner?"

They both nodded and we went over to the table. I sat Rimi next to me and mother was on the other side of her, but father sat right across from her with Itachi next to him. Lovely, now father could scrutinize her the whole night.

"So," he started as he began with his salad. "Do you go to school Rimi?"

Does he think she's uneducated or something? "Yes, sir. I attend medical school."

This quickly caught his attention. "So you're already attending college?"

"In a way I do. It's mostly part time right now since I work in pharmaceuticals, but I plan to be a full time student when I can afford it."

"Hm, interesting," he said with finality. It didn't seem like he thought it was interesting at all, but I was happy he just stopped talking to her.

"Do you see your family often Rimi? Working in a job like that and handling your studies must be difficult," mother asked concerned. At least she showed she cared.

"I manage Ms. Uchiha. My older brother is always there to help out when he can. Plus I have Naruto and Sasuke here for me so I'm quite fine with my lifestyle," Rimi said smiling once more. She was handling this quite well. I felt very proud of her.

Then my father ruined it. "Sasuke being here for you? He has to focus on school and his future young lady. You may already be ahead but you shouldn't hold him back."

I saw her bite her lip a bit but she said nothing. I nearly retorted for her but Itachi beat me too it.

"She's not distracting Sasuke, she's actually helping him."

"I don't see how him spending what I guess to be so much time with her is helping."

Itachi gave father the hardest stare I've ever actually seen on him. "You don't see because you're never around to pay attention."

I was stunned. Not only did Itachi stand up for Rimi, but he basically put father in his place for not being around to know anything about our lives. That was the first time I've ever heard his opinion about the situation.

Mother quickly saw where this was going and faced Rimi. "Rimi dear, what does your brother do since you said he helps you when he can?"

I saw a look of fear cross Rimi's face as she answered carefully, "With all due respect, I'd rather not talk about it if that's okay with you."

An awkward silence passed between us, and Rimi's statement caused me to question her personal life even more. Even though it's been a few months, I haven't questioned her about her family since the day we sat in the park and I told her about mine. I noticed father give her an apprehensive look, almost like he couldn't trust her, and I prayed he wouldn't speak.

My prayers weren't answered. "How can we trust you if you won't tell us much about yourself?"

"Fugaku! That was unnecessary. I don't mind that she didn't answer."

"Well that may not bother you but it does bother me. Not only is she a distraction to our son but we don't know any of her motives or background. What if she has a bad history? What if her family isn't respectable?"

"My family is fine," Rimi interrupted. "They should not be judged based on the information I did not disclose."

He glared. "And rude. She needs more manners."

She furrowed her eyebrows, facing me. I guess she didn't pick up what he said and for once I was thankful she was deaf. I shook my head, then faced father. "You're calling her rude and yet you're talking to her in third person as if she's not sitting right in front of you."

"This doesn't concern you Sasuke."

"It does if you're disrespecting my girlfriend, and that is highly unappreciated."

As soon as the words left my lips I regretted them. It wasn't that I had mistakenly referred to Rimi as my girlfriend, but that even if she was father didn't need to know that. The look on his face said enough, and I knew he was about to explode.

"That's enough Sasuke. Now I can see that this girl is ruining your life. She may have goals but she's hindering yours. She obviously has no respect and is hiding an important part of her life. How can you bother to trust her if you know little about her?"

Again, Rimi furrowed her eyebrows and looked at me once more, but I continued to face my father. "I know enough, and Rimi can state her opinion herself since she seems to be very independent. So why not let her speak?"

I bit my tongue and faced her, but she still looked at me confused. My eyes widened. She couldn't pick up most of what he said, and I'm pretty sure it's because his anger made him talk so fast she couldn't keep up.

Noticing our dilemma, Itachi did something else that shocked me that night. He started signing to Rimi, and I don't know what he said but she quickly nodded and exited the room. My father stared wide eyed at her retreating form, and faced us with a hard expression.

"That girl is deaf?"

I glared. "Yes, Rimi is deaf."

"I forbid you to see her."

"Fugaku!"

Before she could continue, Itachi interrupted, "You have no right to tell Sasuke who he can and can't see. You haven't been a father let alone be part of our lives in a long while and you don't know what's good for him. I'm the one who's been around to practically raise Sasuke. He's my brother, and I look out for him. If I didn't think Rimi was a good girl, I would've said something and I also wouldn't have let you meet her. Yes, she's deaf, yet she's been able to accomplish a lot in her life. Now, I think you've overstayed your welcome. Thank you for joining us but goodbye father."

I have such a newfound respect for Itachi now.